The San Diego State women’s soccer team watched the NCAA Tournament selection show from an auditorium in the athletic department, and when the Aztecs were announced as a No. 2 seed a year after not making the 64-team field at all, this was the reaction:

San Diego State's Sarah Halverson, left, and Kelsey Booth celebrate after Booth's first half goal against New Mexico State during the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. SDSU won 2-0.
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State's Sarah Halverson, left, and Kelsey Booth celebrate after Booth's first half goal against New Mexico State during the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. SDSU won 2-0.
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State's Carli Johnson, top, and teammate Tiffany Hurst collide with and New Mexico State goalie Kelli Cornell collide and other defenders on a corner kick during the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. SDSU won ...
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State's Sarah Halverson, top right, celebrates after she scored a goal against New Mexico State during the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012. SDSU won 2-0.
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State soccer coach Mike Friesen, left, and assistant coach Juan Pablo Favero make a clean get away as players try to dunk them after beating New Mexico State 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. ...
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State soccer coach Mike Friesen, left, and assistant coach Juan Pablo Favero make a clean get away as players try to dunk them after beating New Mexico State 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. ...
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State soccer coach Mike Friesen, left, and assistant coach Juan Pablo Favero make a clean get away as players try to dunk them after beating New Mexico State 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. ...
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State soccer coach Mike Friesen, left, and assistant coach Juan Pablo Favero make a clean get away as players try to dunk them after beating New Mexico State 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. ...
— K.C. Alfred

San Diego State soccer coach Mike Friesen, left, and assistant coach Juan Pablo Favero make a clean get away as players try to dunk them after beating New Mexico State 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference Championships on Sunday, Nov. ...
— K.C. Alfred

No hooting, no hollering, no posturing for TV cameras positioned to capture their reaction.

Maybe it was that the 19-1-1 Aztecs have designs on going deep into a tournament that this year has its Final Four across town at USD’s Torero Stadium. Or maybe it was the realization that making the 7-mile trip down Interstate 8 is not exactly a straight shot.

The Aztecs open the tournament Saturday night at 7 on the Sports Deck against a dangerous Cal State Northridge team fresh off its first Big West title in school history … then would get Pepperdine or Cal, which both spent most of the season in the Top 25 … then UCLA, which last week was ranked No. 2 … then possibly defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Stanford at Stanford.

SDSU’s lone loss this season, 1-0 on Sept. 14, was at Stanford.

“The No. 1 seed in our bracket is Stanford,” Aztecs coach Mike Friesen told his players after the selection show. “You want another crack at them, you got it. But we’ll have to do some work to get it.”

The Aztecs had a legitimate claim for one of the four No. 1 seeds after winning the Mountain West tournament on Sunday and unofficially finishing second behind Stanford in RPI (ratings percentage index), the computerized ranking of all 323 Div. I teams that is supposed to heavily influence seeding.

Instead, BYU (expected to finish fifth in RPI) received a No. 1 seed along with Stanford, Penn State and Florida State. The Cougars also got a far smoother road to the College Cup at USD, not having to face a ranked opponent until the Sweet 16 and not having to face a Top 10 opponent at all. And, of course, getting sea level teams in the cold and elevation of Provo, Utah.

Said Friesen: “As much as we wanted a No. 1 seed, hey, you just gave us a little more fuel to prove it.”

The problem is that in women’s soccer, the NCAA fill the bracket by geography instead of competitive balance. It is a function of finances, not wanting to foot the bill for shipping teams across country. Buses are much cheaper.

The result: One quadrant loaded with West Coast teams that populated the Top 25 all season, including the Mountain West champion against the Big West champion.

The other No. 2 seeds? They open with Radford, LaSalle and Florida Gulf Coast.

Cal State Northridge is in its first NCAA Tournament after finishing 11-4-6 and ranks first nationally in save percentage at .906. The Matadors have won their last three meetings with SDSU, most recently 3-1 on the Sports Deck in 2009.

Their 2012 season is littered with impressive results: a 3-0 win at USD, a 1-1 tie against USC, a 1-0 win against Michigan, a 1-1 tie at Portland, a 1-0 win at Long Beach State.